Tottenham Community Empowerment Week 4-12th October 2014

Exhibitions / socials / meetings / leaflettings / bike rides / activities / protests / walks / alternatives / consultations / films / conference

The Our Tottenham network are calling on people and groups to organise activities and events showcasing the collective power and concerns of those who live and work in Tottenham, and celebrate our strong and diverse communities. The week will build up to the next Our Tottenham Community Conference planned for Saturday 11th October. As soon as you confirm your event we will add it to the programme which will then be publicised widely.

Here are some details of the events already being planned
[Entry free unless otherwise stated]

Updated with correct event information as of 30th September 2014

All Week
Exhibition: How the community transformed Tottenham’s largest park
Two decades of community action in Lordship Rec
Sat-Sun 10-6pm, Mon-Fri 12-6pm @ The Eco Hub Cafe, Lordship Rec, N17 6NU.
Organised by The Friends of Lordship Rec: www.lordshiprec.org.uk www.lordshiphub.org.uk

Saturday 4th October
Working together for the future of Wards Corner
Join us at Seven Sisters market to find out more about the community plan for Wards Corner, give your views and get involved. Enjoy a range of activities (including bike repair and community art) and demonstration projects, and visit local businesses and traders.
2pm onwards, at Seven Sisters market
Organised by Wards Corner Community Coalition: www.wardscorner.wikispaces.com

Saturday 4th October
[Re]Generation Tottenham – Young people’s film / food / poetry slam
4pm-9pm
@ Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, N15
Organised by local young people. Please follow @tottenhamGEN

Saturday 4th October
Mark Duggan: The Complete Picture – a public meeting
5pm-8pm
@ North London Community House, 22 Moorefield Road, N17 6PY
The inside story of the inquest into the police killing of Tottenham resident, Mark Duggan. Speakers include : Carole Duggan (Mark’s aunt), Shaun Hall (Mark’s brother), Fidel Santigi (Justice4Mark), and Stafford Scott (Tottenham Rights). Contributions from the families of Cynthia Jarrett, Joy Gardener and Roger Sylvester, and also Linton Kwesi Johnson and Brother Wancee.
Organised by the Justice 4 Mark Duggan campaign: www.tottenhamrights.org.uk/?p=111

Saturday 4th October
City of Migrants: Haringey Migrant Support Centre Second birthday celebration / fundraiser
7pm – late
  Music and food. St John Vianney Church Hall, 386 West Green Road, N15 3QL  £5.
Entry by donation (£5 suggested) NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE. Organised by HMSC: www.haringeymsc.org

Sunday 5th October
Defending Our Homes: Past, Present and Future – wlak around some key sites
Come and join a walk around Tottenham covering some of the places where residents and tenants have organised to defend their homes. Be inspired by past campaigns.
Meet 11am, Broadwater Farm Community Centre, 1 Adams Road, N17
Organised by members of the Our Tottenham Housing Working Group: www.ourtottenham.org.uk

Sunday 5th October
Haringey Needs St Ann’s Hospital – Improvements not sell-offs!
12 noon
  Engagement and leafletting of staff & patients @ the entrance of the Hospital, St Ann’s Rd, N15 3TH
Organised by Haringey Needs St Ann’s Hospital campaign: https://www.facebook.com/HaringeyNeedsStAnnsHospital

Monday 6th October
Bike Ride for World Mental Health Day
To raise awareness of mental health issues in our communities
Assemble 11.30am Bring your bike to one of 2 assembly points – the entrance of St Anns Hospital N15, or to Station Rd N22 opposite Wood Green tube, and then cycle to Lordship Rec, N17 6NU.
Organised by Rockstone Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rockstone-Foundation/386695084793292

Monday 6th October
Martial arts self defence classes for young women aged 16-25
Urban Krav Maga is a practical method of protecting yourself from attack.
7pm-8pm @ The Triangle Centre, 91-93 St Ann’s Road, N15 6NU     2 a class
Info from: 020 8347 2411 participation@jacksonslane.org.uk

Monday 6th October
REEL News Film and Discussion Night: OUR Neighbourhoods! People power and gentrification

7pm-9.30pm @ T Chances, 399 High Road, N15 6RD
A series of local (Haringey) and international short films about residents defending their neighbourhoods against being forced out by gentrification.
Organised by REEL News: www.reelnews.co.uk

Wednesday 8th October
Celebrate and Defend Tottenham’s Community-run Community Centres
Join the efforts opposing closures, sell offs and demolitions – and to expand provision.
7-9pm @ Chestnuts Community Arts Centre, St Ann’s Road, N15 5BN
Organised by members of the Our Tottenham Coordination Group:   www.ourtottenham.org.uk

Thursday 9th October
Open Air Green Gym – gardening, fitness and fun
11am-2pm
@ East Hale Allotments, Mill Mead Road, Tottenham Hale, N17 9QU
Activities range from putting in fruit trees and plants to building raised beds and keeping the area friendly for wildlife. Come down and get some fresh air and exercise, learn new skills, meet new people, help the environment and have fun!
Organised by The Conservation Volunteers: j.cox@tcv.org.uk  Tel: 020 8348 6005

Friday 10th October
Open Air Green Gym – gardening, fitness and fun
10.30am-1pm
@ Harmony Gardens, Broadwater Farm Community Centre, 1 Adams Road, N17 6HE
Activities range from putting in fruit trees and plants to building raised beds and keeping the area friendly for wildlife. Come down and get some fresh air and exercise, learn new skills, meet new people, help the environment and have fun!
Organised by The Conservation Volunteers:  j.cox@tcv.org.uk  Tel: 020 8348 6005

Saturday 11th October
Our Tottenham Community Conference: Moving Forward Together
Tottenham’s community groups and individuals are invited to come and strengthen cooperation, and to achieve what we want for our neighbourhoods. Includes developing community plans and community-led regeneration.
11-4pm @ North London Community House, 22 Moorefield Road, N17 6PY
Organised by the Our Tottenham network: www.ourtottenham.org.uk

Saturday 11th October
Tottenham Green Multicultural Festival
Foods from all over the world, stalls, bands, Michael Jackson tribute, drumming and dance
12-6pm @ Tottenham Green N15
Organised by Efiba Arts: www.efibaarts.org.uk

And……

(To be confirmed)
Keep it local! Tottenham High Road West public event
Tottenham traders resisting demolition plans say: don’t walk over our businesses, there is an alternative.
Organised by Tottenham Businesses Group

Moving Forward Together – Our Tottenham Conference Sat 11th October – ALL WELCOME!

OUR TOTTENHAM – CONFERENCE
Moving Forward Together
Saturday 11 October, 11am – 4pm

North London Community House, 22 Moorefield Road, N17 6PY

AIMS

Enable people to find out more about what the Council and developers are doing, and the work of the Our Tottenham Network. Inspire and enable the community to learn from successful community-led projects and local campaigning, and to promote and celebrate our achievements as local people. Take forward ideas from our Feb 2014 conference for positive Community Planning for local sites and for Tottenham as a whole. Update the Community Charter for Tottenham. To work towards building a mass movement based on community empowerment, social inclusion, fairness and justice for all

DRAFT AGENDA

11. Arrival / registration

11.15am   General introduction / background   About Council/developers policies and plans + Our Tottenham network news + Purpose of conference

11.25am  INSPIRATIONAL COMMUNITY ACTION
Short ‘inspirational’ presentations / updates from around Tottenham (eg North London Community House, Tottenham Business Group, Selby Centre, Chestnuts Community Arts Centre, Haringey Defend Council Housing, Wards Corner, Haringey Needs St Ann’s Hospital, Lordship Rec, Bull Lane Playing Fields, Community Land Trust etc)

12.15pm.  Workshops – 1st session: Mobilising and campaigning. An action discussion.
All discussions to include reference to an alternative Community Plan for Tottenham
a. Housing (including the campaign to defend Council housing estates) – HDCH
b. Economy – OT Economy Working Group (including discussing amendment to the Charter)
c. Youth – Paulette + (?)
d. Environmental sustainability (+ proposed paragraph to be added to Charter) – FOE / SH?
e. Community Facilities, including self-managed Community Centres – Community Centres people
f.  Public Services (including Health, Education, Welfare and Council services) – HANSAH etc
Break-out groups sharing ideas and experiences, and discussing the next steps. All to include ‘ensuring social inclusion’ as part of the discussions. [Note: Each workshop to propose 3 key action points / pledges?]

1pm  Break —————

1.45pm  Workshops – 2nd session   COMMUNITY PLANNING AND A TOTTENHAM COMMUNITY PLAN
Introduction on why we need a Community Plan for Tottenham. Break out into groups, each to discuss a. and b. below. What are the practicalities of developing local community plans for individual sites, and the proposed ‘Road Map’ for creating a Tottenham-wide Plan.

a.  How do people create Community Plans? Developing community visions and turning them into local Plans; Accessing and pressing for the funding/resources needed; Relations with Council and authorities; Negotiating legal/planning processes; Developing partnerships; Mobilising support and exercising our power to achieve Plans.
b.  How will we, together, create a Community Plan for Tottenham as a whole – agreeing and implementing a ‘Road Map’ over the next 12 months based on the Community Charter, the experiences of successful local community planning efforts, and the preliminary work of the Our Tottenham Community Planning Working Group. How can everyone contribute to the process? One over-arching plan? Several mini-plans for different geographical areas on the map (eg N/S/E/W/Central Tottenham?). A sector based approach e.g. community buildings; shops and workplaces; green spaces; housing? How do we ensure involvement and support from community groups and the wider public for the process and development of a draft Community Plan – local workshops, Questionnaires etc? How can we forestall adverse moves by Council/developers in time to prevent things we don’t want from becoming irreversible?

2.45pm   Final session   MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER
2.45pm
   Brief report-backs from the workshops and indicative show of hands for any proposals.

3.15pm   Discussion about ‘road map’ for the Community Plan for Tottenham as a whole.

3.30pm   Discussion on ways of involving/engaging/empowering the people of Tottenham in defending their needs and strengthening the OT network: eg supporting local campaigns, spreading mutual aid and solidarity, group affiliations, stalls, assemblies, active Working Groups, localised workshops and events, community-led consultations, lobbies, protests etc.

4pm.  Final remarks. Clear up together.

Continue reading

The Wood Green Audit, 2006

Groundbreaking Residents’ Audit serves as an inspiration to those who want to improve highstreets.

Produced in 2006, the Wood Green Audit came out of several consultation events organised by Residents Associations and the people of wood green. It provides a whole host of detailed recommendations for improvements to the area, many of these proposals have since been implemented.

For more information about the Wood Green Audit, download a copy here or please check out the Wood Green High Road pages

Introduction to the Wood Green Audit
Laurie Owen, the Chair of Parkside Malvern Residents Association (the lead organisation for the Audit), introduced the background to the Audit. He explained that there had been almost no consultation at all with local people in the first 6 months of the Council’s ‘masterplanning’ exercise. Therefore the local residents associations had decided to do their own audit of the High Road and surrounding areas, identify the problems (many of which were long-running and serious) and propose constructive solutions to ensure the area became one that Haringey residents could enjoy and be proud of. For the last 6 months, he said, Wood Green’s associations (representing an area with a total population of over 10,000 people) had collaborated, and produced the Audit. To ensure the fullest possible debate it had been decided, with the backing of the Haringey Federation of Residents Associations, to hold this Public Launch and Consultation Event. Detailed publicity leaflets had been distributed by local RA members to 4,000 local homes, and more were given out on stalls in the High Rd. He went through some of the key points in the Audit. In his view: ‘The Audit is in effect a Peoples Plan for Wood Green, and any plans that the Council come up with will have to be judged against it.’

 

Haringey planners urged to reject 470-home overhaul of Tottenham’s St Ann’s Hospital site

Article from Ham & High, Wednesday, August 13, 2014
http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/news/health_2_4561/haringey_planners_urged_to_reject_470_home_overhaul_of_tottenham_s_st_ann_s_hospital_site_1_3724751

Plans for an NHS mental health trust to convert two-thirds of a hospital site into housing fail in their legal duty to account for residents’ future health needs, say campaigners.

The ambitious plans for the overhaul of Tottenham’s St Ann’s Hospital site to provide 470 homes and a new hospital do not make allowances for the demands on healthcare services that will come with an expected 10,000 new homes in the area over the next 20 years.

New campaign group Haringey Needs St Ann’s Hospital (HaNSAH), made up of local residents who want better health service provision on the site and are “concerned that their views have not been considered” so far, has submitted a 10-page objection letter to Haringey Council’s planners about the huge scheme.

Don’t forget, if you would like to help us plan the campaign join us at our next meeting at 6.30pm on Monday 18th August at Chestnuts Community Centre on St Ann’s Road opposite the hospital.

Objection letter: HaNSAH Objection to St Anns Hospital Site Continue reading

Submission to Regeneration Committee on London Assembly Investigation of Stadium-led regeneration

London Assembly Stadium-led regeneration
Regeneration Committee

Submission on behalf of the Local Economy Group of the Our Tottenham network. 14th August 2014
Download full copy here

The Our Tottenham network brings together 40 key local community groups, projects and campaigns standing up for the interests of people in Tottenham, especially around planning and regeneration issues (http://ourtottenham.org.uk/?page_id=31). We work together to fight for our neighbourhoods, our community facilities and the needs of our communities throughout Tottenham. This response, formulated by the Local Economy Group, is based on the principles embedded in the Community Charter for Tottenham agreed by the Our Tottenham network on 6 April 2013 (available here: http://ourtottenham.wordpress.com/community-charter/). This was followed up by a Community Planning for Tottenham conference in February 2014.

Terms of reference

The purpose of the Committee’s investigation is to:

–          Review evidence from past and current stadium-led regeneration schemes to assess the benefits of stadium development programmes to both football clubs and local communities;

The history of stadium-led regeneration schemes is older in the USA and consequently there is a much deeper evidence base of the claimed benefits for such projects.

The issue of stadium development has become centred on whether the claimed economic benefits flow from state subsidies provided to sports franchises through the building of new sports stadiums.  Numerous researchers have examined the relationship between new facilities and economic growth in metropolitan areas in the USA, see: Baade & Dye, 1990;[1] Rosentraub & Swindell, 1993;[2] 1996, Noll & Zimbalist, 1997[3].  In each case, independent analysis of economic impacts made by newly built stadiums and arenas has uniformly found no statistically significant positive correlation between sport facility construction and economic development (Siegfried & Zimbalist, 2000)[4].  This can be contrasted with the claims of teams and colleagues, who emphasize the large economic benefits of professional franchises merit significant public expenditures on stadiums and arenas, (Matheson, 2002)[1]. Continue reading

No Estate Demolitions: HDCH Organising Meeting 6.30pm, Thursday 14th August

Haringey Defend Council Housing Organising meeting
6.30 pm, Thursday, 14th August
@ Library, North London Community House, 22 Moorefield Road, London N17 6PY (near Bruce Grove BR Station, directly opposite the Royal Mail Sorting Office)

Angry residents challenged Haringey Council’s demolition plans at the Launch meeting for the ‘regeneration’ of Tottenham on 30 July. Read the press report of the meeting here:  http://www.haringeyindependent.co.uk/news/11379400._Why_do_you_want_to_demolish_my_home__/

We have held recent Defend Council Housing estate meetings at Turner Avenue and Tangmere House. Formal consultations are starting on several other estates shortly.

We will be working out a plan to take our case to the tenants, and stop the demolition plans.

Please come along to this meeting for all who wish to get actively involved in helping coordinate the campaign.

All comments and feedback are welcome

Paul Burnham
Haringey Defend Council Housing

Haringey Needs St Ann’s Hospital – How to object to the Planning Application!

Dear St Ann’s Hospital Supporters,
The outline planning application is open for comments in support or to object to the redevelopment. We urge you to object to the application. We need to stop the site being sold off to property developers to build houses no one in Haringey will be able to afford, what we need are improved health services!
To make it easier for you to object we have drafted a letter of objection that you can adapt or simply cut and paste into an email. The draft letter is below. You can submit your objection by clicking on this link:
You must submit your objection soon, the planning officer writing the report making recommendations to the Planning Sub-Committee has already started to write his report. We need to make our voices heard now!
If you would like to help us plan the campaign join us at our next meeting at 6.30pm on Monday 18th August at Chestnuts Community Centre on St Ann’s Road opposite the hospital.
Thank you for your support.
Haringey Needs St Ann’s Hospital Continue reading

Please join us at the next OT Coordination meeting!

The next Our Tottenham Coordination Meeting is on

Wednesday 13th August

639 Enterprise Centre @ 7pm
639 High Rd, N17 8AA
ALL WELCOME!

For all those who want to see genuine community empowerment and community-led regeneration throughout Tottenham. Members and reps of all Tottenham’s community groups particularly welcome! Minutes of last 2 meetings attached…

Includes discussions on:
– Latest Tottenham ‘regeneration’ and development news
– Reports of local activities around housing, planning, economy, local services/facilities etc
– Reports from local groups and campaigns
– October 4-12th: ‘Tottenham Community Empowerment Week’ , including the Our Tottenham conference on Sat 11th Oct. All groups encouraged to organise an activity during that week, and to attend this important conference.

Haringey Needs St Anns Hospital – Update on campaign. Next meeting Tues 22nd July

Last Wednesday 16th July there was a so called  Consultation meeting on the proposed sell off of NHS land  at St Anns Hospital to private developers .

People were left angry and feeling there were more questions than answers over exactly  why the Mental Health Trust (BEH) have decided that 2/3rds of this land is “surplus to requirement ”  when there are massive health inequalities and needs in East Haringey  (see reports below)

Haringey Needs St Anns Hospital (HaNSAH) is fighting to stop this!

Come to the next Hansah meeting:  Tuesday 22 JULY 2014 AT 730 AT THE TOLLGATE PUB Turnpike Lane N8

We have 11 DAYS TO SAVE ST ANNS!  We now understand that Objections are written up for the Planning Sub Committee  around  1 August 2014 -so thats 11 Days time from tomorrow.

We need to act now…….HANSAH meeting is on Tuesday 22 JULY 2014 AT 730 AT THE TOLLGATE PUB Turnpike Lane N8

Continue reading